Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There

Written by Lewis Carroll

Narrated by Fiona Shaw

Alice is back in her room, stroking her cats – but not for long. Slipping through the looking-glass she meets another wild collection of fantasy characters including the Red and White Kings and Queens, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and is entertained by the poems "Jabberwocky" and "The Walrus and the Carpenter".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Feb 1, 1998
• ISBN: 9789629543877

Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), was the pen name of Oxford mathematician, logician, photographer, and author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. At age twenty he received a studentship at Christ Church and was appointed a lecturer in mathematics. Though shy, Dodgson enjoyed creating delightful stories for children. His world-famous works include the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and the poems The Hunting of the Snark and Jabberwocky.

Reviews for Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There

[parissea · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think this is one of the strangest story in the world. A lot of strnge characters and strange words appear in the iooking-glass's wrold. For example, "tomorrow jam" "Humpty Dumpty." Alice, the heroine, met many unresonable things.I like Alice, so I am angry with looking-glass's people. I was confused by theories that they have. But thinking about their theories is interesting.

[ccookie_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First line:~ One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it: — it was the black kitten’s fault entirely ~I found my reaction to this book pretty much the same as my reaction to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I enjoyed some of it but mostly found it tedious and boring. Just not enough in there for me. Or else I am not seeing what is in there?I did, however really get a kick out of the Jabberwocky and The Walrus and the Carpenter. They alone are worth the read! (Poems 4.0 stars)

[rollchan_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Alice was through the looking-glass.She become chess piece abd move on the looking-glass world as a piece.She meet many strange characters there.In the end,you will notice whose dream is it!I like Hampty Dumpty best of all characters.When he uses a word,he decides the means what he choose it to mean,for example an unbirthday-present which means a present we are gave except an our birthday,364days in a year.In this story,many poems appear

[santhony_35 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

For Christmas, I ordered an mp3 player (Library of Classics) that was pre-loaded with 100 works of classic literature in an audio format. Each work is in the public domain and is read by amateurs, so the quality of the presentation is hit or miss. Through the Looking Glass is Louis Carroll’s sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It introduces us to characters such as Tweedledum and Twedledee, Humpty Dumpty and the Red and White Queens as Alice makes her way across a virtual chess board in an effort to be crowned Queen. The story is too irredeemably silly to appeal to most adults and at the same time too witty and complex for children, raising the question of target audience. Certainly, there are several very amusing and intelligent interactions, with excellent dialogue, but these are few and far between, buried in pages of absurdity. This is a very short work, hard to recommend.

[cyderry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First, I never realized that there were separate adventures for Alice and I was startled to find that one of them included Humpty Dumpty. This was a fun few hours reliving a story from childhood.

[britt84 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I first read 'Through the Looking Glass' I really didn't like it as much as I had liked 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', but I find that it has grown on me with a number of re-readings. I think 'Through the Looking Glass' is perhaps a bit more difficult, or more 'mature' than Alice. Or perhaps I'm just more familiar with Alice and therefore liked it better to begin with... Either way, I think reading it several times has opened my eyes to more of the symbolism in the novel, and has very much increased my enjoyment of it, and I think it's definitely worth the effort of getting more closely aquainted with it.

[cayenneellis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just wrote a big review and accidentally deleted it. Sigh.This was a good book. I definitely enjoyed it! But I don't think it really stood up to the first Alice. This nonsense book seemed a little more nonsensical, with less rhyme or reason behind it. The sense that I think I was supposed make out of it came to me later than it should have; the kittens = the queens? Whoops! I did really enjoy the inclusion of all the poetry in this volume, however, and I was also surprised at the inclusion of so much iconic Alice canon such as Tweedledum and Tweedledee as well as The Jabberwocky. I would recommend this book if for no other reason than what an easy read it was, even if you're worried you might not like it - I read it start to finish cover to cover. It was definitely cute and worth reading.

[kassilem · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I’ve heard that a lot of people liked this book more than the first, Alice in Wonderland. I found I did myself as well. Perhaps because you get use to the way Carroll writes. Or perhaps because there is more of a goal to the plot here. Alice is working her way to become a queen and the nonsense comes about as she journeys. I’m not entirely sure why this second book caught me more than the first one did, but it did. I liked most everything Alice came across, especially the knights that continued to fall over. It looks as if the Disney movie took from both books to make their classic movie. I also loved the narrator for this book. She did a fantastic job at putting just a touch of incredulity in her voice at the right moments. It was a lovely book to listen to.

[jcamilo_720582 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a sequel of Alice in Wonderlands, but rather than a continuity, it tells a different, yet similar story. Again Carroll explores the paradoxes of life and build a masterwork of fantasy and literature.

[librarycatnip · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Much better than Alice in Wonderland.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Instead of a rabbit-hole, this time Alice falls through a mirror in her parlor into the fantastical realm of Wonderland. She encounters Humpty Dumpty, a variety of monarchs, and has the chance to become a queen if she can venture through a countryside arranged as a chessboard. Similar to the previous novel in its nonsensical happenings, Through the Looking-Glass nevertheless dives further into questions about life, knowledge, and perception than Alice in Wonderland.

[jensenc_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Much better than Alice in wonderland, but still just ok.

[raselyem7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Much better than Alice in Wonderland.

[etxgardener · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alice and her cat Dinah step through the looking glass and enter a kingdom of strange creatures and have many adventures. Every once in a while you must re-read these classics.

[breton07 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked this edition so much. I enjoyed re-reading the book since my childhood. However, being able to see how Lewis Carroll's own illustrations influenced Sir John Tenniel's was inspiring! Their collaboration really worked!I've always felt this book was a second home for me. I had a chance to read about the world as its crazy self. It is a coming of age story about a girl who is curious, outspoken, and opinionated. A great fantasy novel reflects who we are-sometimes hugely important, sometimes small and inconsequential. One of my favorite poems,"Jabberwocky", is in this book.-Breton W Kaiser Taylor

[phaga_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked Wonderland more, the characters were more memorable and it was easier to stay interested. I still enjoyed reading this though and loved the part with Humpty Dumpty.

[behemothing-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"The shop seemed to be full of all manner of curious things-- but the oddest part of it all was, that whenever she looked hard at any shelf, to make out exactly what it had on it, that particular shelf was always quite empty: though the others round it were crowded as full as they could hold."

[lorraineh_18 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Honestly, I am not sure I got the story!I loved the crazy writing but the story was so confusing. It felt like a lot of short stories linked together with some random element,It is a poor relation of alice in wonderland (which I loved).

[ombwarrior47 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I honestly didn't care much for this book. I enjoyed the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum but the queens just annoyed me half the time and I thought that it could have been better developed overall.

[hippielunatic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was not thoroughly impressed with this book, at least with the prose portions of it. I will have to give Carroll credit, though. His poetry is able to calm the fiercest roars of my infant.Perhaps it would have helped my view of the book had I read Alice in Wonderland first.

[bereneezypie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although I like this book, I didn't find it nearly as entertaining as Alice in Wonderland. In Wonderland, it seemed as if the silliness came natural, whereas this book seemed to be forcing it a little (at the times it was silly).

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this sequel less entertaining than Wonderland. The basic idea of a topsy turvy world within a mirror and the Red and White Queens being Alice's kittens is good, but I found a lot of this a bit flat. The Jabberwocky is a great nonsense poem, though. 3.5/5

[littlerob · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love all things Alice. This edition has beautiful illustrations by Bessie Pease Gutmann.

[vwhitt_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The second installment of Alice’s adventure happens when she travels through the looking glass on the mantelpiece. In this looking glass house she finds a room not unlike her own. While there, she is introduced to new creatures such as live chess pieces, talking flowers, insects, and an egg (which can be seen in the original cartoon of Alice in Wonderland). This looking glass world is just as interesting as Wonderland was. Here, Alice meets both the Red and White queen (from the chess board). They tell her she can become a queen too. In order to do that, she must move through the various levels of the looking glass world like one would a chess game. At the celebration, things went haywire and Alice awoke in her drawing room. Just like in Wonderland, she was left wondering if she dreamt it all. I really like both this tale and the tale of Wonderland for children because it allows them to imagine and dream. These are traits every child should harvest. They are also traits parents should encourage rather than suppress like many today are. Details: This novel was writtent o interest children in grades 3-6 and is on a 5.9 reading level

[ninacaramelita · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

To celebrate the release of Alice Through the Looking Glass, I've challenged myself by rereading Through the Looking-Glass in Finnish : Alice peilintakamaassa. ~ June 2016

[nieva21 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love Alice through the Looking Glass so much more than Alice in Wonderland, if that's even possible, because I love both of these, but reading this classic sequel not only showed me how Alice is tested and prodded by the eccentric friends she meets, but it shows more of her creativity coming out of her. This book teaches children that impossible can still happen, even if they doubt that it will. She's a uniquely changed character from the first work, in that she is no longer naive but has gained perspective on adapting to new people and new places. I almost wish her adventures would continue. This book should be taught as a part of language arts curriculum that's required for young children in around second and third grades. Fantastic to read, sing with, and recite the poems (that are more widely known than the first written work).

[jrissman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll is a funny, relatively short romp through an amusing phantasmagoric countryside. Based on a movie that I saw when I was little, I half-expected this novel to be darker than "Alice in Wonderland," but it's not the case.The story follows Alice as she encounters odd people and creatures, transitioning from one scene to another with the swiftness and inexplicability of a dream. The vast majority of the book is dialogue- Alice only occasionally does anything other than travel or converse. Carroll aims to be funny, and he sometimes succeeds. Overwhelmingly, the humor comes from clever wordplay (words with double meanings, expressions taken literally, etc.), along with the randomness and silliness of some of the non-sequitur comments made by various characters. Alice herself is quite accepting and mostly plays a "straight man" to play off of the Wonderland denizens' eccentricities.One of the highlights of the book is its poetry. Roughly five or six times, Alice encounters someone who sings or recites rhyming verses, which seldom fail to be humorous and enjoyable. The most famous, and probably best, of these is the poem Jabberwocky, but it is not the only good one. I rather liked the one sung by the White Knight shortly before he took his leave of Alice.Despite the book's short length, I did start to tire of it by the end. There is only some much clever wordplay and zany dialogue one can take before it starts to lose its impact. In some ways, the story feels incomplete. It has lots of characters and scenes, but it seems to be in need of a plot. Randomly wandering or transitioning from scene to scene, with only a vague goal (progress on a metaphorical chessboard), is not very satisfying. I think Through the Looking Glass could have been a genuinely great novel if Carroll had figured out how to put more direction and meaning in the story without losing Wonderland's silly charm.

[bookson23rd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lewis Carroll’s ‘Through The Looking Glass’ was first published over one hundred years ago and is a classic in children’s literature. In essence, it is about the struggle of childhood.
In Alice’s dream there are symbolisms of the constraints on childhood and what one must go through in order to become an adult. Along the way there is practically nothing that she herself does in order to move the story along – everything is presented to her without much option, just like in childhood. She touches a goat’s beard and finds herself sitting under a tree. A fawn will only tell her something if she walks farther into the woods with it. Alice wonders which fingerpost to follow, yet there is only one road.
Near the beginning of the story, she is trying to leave her ‘house’ and get to the top of a ‘hill’, representing the initial struggle.
“So young a child,’ said the gentleman… (he was dressed in white paper), ‘ought to know which way she’s going…” is an example that signifies that the innocence of childhood precedes the decision of goals one must choose for their adult livelihood.
When Alice decides she wants to be Queen, the White Knight, representing purity and goodness, says “I’ll see you safe to the end of the wood…” meaning that if she is pure and good, she will make it through childhood. He also gives her the wise counsel, “The great art of riding…is to keep your balance properly,” meaning that if she continues with moderation in life she will be successful.
At the end, she stands before an arched doorway over which the words ‘Queen Alice’ are written, the arch representing the graduation from child to adult. As an adult she finds her voice and challenges the Red Queen (authority) by demanding that pudding be brought back to the table. Then she “conquered her shyness by a great effort and cut a slice…” and hands it to the Queen. By doing this, Alice is showing that she has become her own person.
This is one of the few older children's classics that I would actually read to a child because it does have good moral lessons in an entertaining environment. The original illustrations are really great. Highly recommended!

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've been staying away from this book, I think it was because there was a made for TV movie based on this book that I saw as a kid, and it was rather scary....However, this book is not scary at all, I was expecting more Jabberwocky, and outside of a poem, there was no mention of it all. Generally, this book is nonsensical, with flashes of logic. There is no rhyme or reason to what Alice does, its just nonsensical encounter after nonsensical encounter. This book doesn't have much of relation to the Alice in Wonderland, being set in a different game entirely.I think I preffered the first book better than the second. In this book, Alice has no real reason for doing what she does, just that it happens.Overall, its a fast read and rather enjoyable.

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is even worse than Alice in Wonderland due to the lack of sense. Although the story is supposed to be a dream, one would hope for some value from the story. There are some bright spots in that some humor can be found. I do not see the value in reading this story.